4 O’Clock Inspection
Household Cavalry Museum, Covent Garden
About
A short daily ceremony at 4pm in the courtyard on the Whitehall side of Horse Guards that brings an end to the sentry duties of the mounted Household Cavalry. It is held by the Household Cavalry: two troopers on horseback and six guards on foot form a line and are inspected by an officer who has ridden down from Knightsbridge Barracks, before he dismisses them for the day. Informally known as the Punishment Parade, the tradition began in 1894 after Queen Victoria found the guards asleep, drunk or gambling when she expected an escort to Buckingham Palace, and commanded daily inspections for 100 years. That century ended in 1994, but Queen Elizabeth II ordered the inspection to continue indefinitely, and it does so to this day.
Written by a model, sources: householdcavalrymuseum.co.uk
Venue
Household Cavalry Museum is in London’s Covent Garden.
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